RECOVERY AIDS RANKED & RATED
You don’t gain fitness instantly as you train but afterwards while you’re recovering. It doesn’t matter how hard you train, if you’re not recovering from your efforts you won’t be improving as much or as quickly as you could be. The basics of recovery are good-quality nutrition and plenty of sleep – if you’re eating well and sleeping well, you’re 90% of the way there. Even so, the sports sector is jam-packed with products purporting to boost recovery. They range from protein powers costing £1 a packet to massage machines costing thousands.
These products can be broadly divided into four categories: compression; cold therapy; neuromuscular aids; and nutrition. We’ve looked into the scientific basis on which each type of product is based, and our aim here is to assess whether they really provide recovery-boosting effects.
Compression wear
The theory: Compression garments gently compress muscle tissue, which is said to improve blood flow and aid recovery by helping to clear out metabolic waste products left over from exercise.
Although some studies indicate improved performance after wearing compression kit (measured by increased time to exhaustion in a ramp test) and improved blood lactate clearance, there is very little peerreviewed
